Hotel Baker

Colonel Edward J. Baker (1868-1959), whose name is associated with both philanthropy and his champion horse, Greyhound, is one of St. Charles's most famous historical residents. Throughout his lifetime, Baker sought to develop St. Charles by dedicating time and money to enhancing its beauty and improving the city's amenities. The buildings he constructed stand as a testament to Baker's love of the city.

After inheriting $20 million following his sister's death in the late 1910s, Baker set out to build the "biggest small hotel." In 1926, Baker purchased the site of the old Haines Mill and hired the St. Charles architectural firm of Wolf, Sexton, Harper, and Trueax to design the hotel. The final plan of the building blended the latest technology with Spanish Romantic Revival architecture. This style reflects the similar architectural features found across the Fox River on the Arcada Theatre.

Hotel Baker had the latest in modern conveniences from kitchen appliances to building elements. The structure of the building incorporated brick, concrete, and steel-encased utilities which were intended to make the building fireproof. Instead of relying on outside services for electricity, Hotel Baker's generator harnessed the power of the Fox River. Thanks to the use of this method of energy production, the hotel avoided power outages, allowing guests to enjoy their stays in comfort. The final cost of the new hotel was approximately $600,000.

Three hundred and one guests joined Baker at the Hotel Baker's opening celebration on June 2, 1928. Not only were these early visitors treated to the splendor found throughout the hotel's public areas, guests could spend the night in one of the fifty­-five rooms for $2.50. Also within the hotel were several shops: a women's clothing store, a newspaper stand, a barber shop, and a beauty shop. Baker built a two-story parking garage and auto showroom adjacent to the hotel.

While the hotel offered these conveniences and amenities to guests, the luxurious Rainbow and Trophy Rooms remained the highlights of one's visit. The Trophy Room, named for the number of horse racing trophies displayed, imitated a Spanish courtyard: balconies, awnings, a fountain, and a simulated sky all contributed to the creation of this environment. The Rainbow Room, with its oval glass block floor and custom pipe organ, provided guests with a dazzling place to dance and dine. 

Until a 1955 flood, red, green, blue, and amber lights beneath the floor created spectacular patterns. Following the flood, the lights could only be turned on and off.

In its heyday, Hotel Baker gained national attention. From the 1930s to the 1950s it gained the nickname "Honeymoon Hotel." Famous performers, including Tommy Dorsey and Louis Armstrong, entertained guests in the Rainbow Room of the hotel during its early years. The hotel also hosted gatherings for both local and national politicians. Among those who visited the Baker Hotel were John F. Kennedy, Adlai Stevenson, Everett Dirksen, and Col. Baker lived on the fifth floor of the hotel from 1928 until his death in 1959. Dellora Norris, Baker's niece, inherited the hotel. After she failed to sell Hotel Baker, she donated it to Lutheran Social Services of Illinois in 1968.

Following a remodeling of the hotel, Lutheran Social Services reopened it in 1971 as an interfaith, non-denominational residence for the elderly. Although the hotel's upper floors were restricted to use by Hotel Baker residents, the first floor areas remained open to the public.

The Hotel Baker's elegant parking garage was razed in early 1983 to make way for Carroll Tower, a senior citizen apartment complex, which Lutheran Social Services managed.

St. Charles businessmen Craig Frank and Neil Johnson bought the hotel in 1996 when Lutheran Social Services declared that the Hotel Baker was too costly to operate and put the building up for sale. 

Following a $9 million renovation, Frank and Johnson celebrated the Hotel Baker's grand reopening as a luxury hotel with a festive 1997 New Year's Eve party. The hotel became worthy again of its 1920s designation as the "Crown Jewel of the Fox." However, the hotel never recovered from financial problems and was forced to close in January 2002.

Joe Salas, Sonny Salas, and Dan Burns purchased the Hotel Baker at a foreclosure auction in August of 2003. The new owners invited the public to a grand re-opening celebration on March 20, 2004. In June 2005, a bronze statue of E.J. Baker, commissioned by the Downtown St. Charles Partnership and created by St. Charles artist Ray Kobald, was installed in front of the Hotel Baker to honor Col. Baker's generous contributions to the community.

The Hotel Baker has received many honors in its eighty-three year history. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, and in 1998 the Landmark Preservation Council of Illinois recognized the Hotel Baker with a Landmarks Illinois Award. The hotel also played a significant role in the decision of the members of the American Institute of Architects to name St. Charles as one of the "150 Great Places in Illinois" in 2007.

Sources

• Architectural Survey, St. Charles Central District, St. Charles: St. Charles Historic Preservation Commission, 1995.

• Buchwald, Mary. 'They Called this Man Colonel." Daily Courier News 30 July 1989, Lifestyle 1:1.

• "Colonel E.J. Baker, Whose Name is Synonymous with That of Vast Progress Congratulates the Beacon-News on the Opening of its Splendid New Publishing Facilities." Aurora Beacon-News, date unknown.

• "Historic Hotel Baker--The Crown Jewel of the Fox." Historic lllirois, February 1999.

• Hotel Baker: A History in Progress, 1928-1998. St. Charles: Hotel Baker Group,1997.

• Clauter, Hazel. Our Community. 1967.